I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electronic test apparatus, and more specifically to a new and improved instrument for generating electrical noise under controlled conditions whereby electronic equipment may be evaluated in terms of its immunity to such generated noise.
II. Discussion of the Prior Art
It is well known that various electrical and electronic systems will fail or otherwise render faulty performance when subjected to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Thus, manufacturers of such equipment attempt to determine their product's immunity to EMI as a necessary adjunct to the design, development, manufacture and testing of such electronic products. Through proper component selection, shielding, circuit layout and compensating techniques, it is possible to avoid, in most instances, the deleterious effects of EMI at predetermined energy levels.
The present invention is related to a test instrument useful in evaluating an electronic system's performance and/or vulnerability to EMI or noise. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a "noise generator" which involves a variety of control parameters whereby the energy content of the emitted noise pulses as well as the burst frequencies and occurrences can be selectively controlled to thereby facilitate the measurements of response characteristics of the equipment under test to the noise bursts so generated.